Yahoo logo (Photo : Reuters)
Forget about forgetting your passwords! Yahoo is introducing new one-step, "on demand" passwords that send a code to your cellphone or through an app. Besides the password-free login, Yahoo is also showcasing new tech for encrypted email.
The "on demand" system requires users to click on a button that reads "send my password." There is no need for the two-step login process of keying in a password into a standard password text box.
Dylan Casey, Yahoo VP, called the new login feature "the first step" in making passwords obsolete, according to CNET. The main drawback is that such password-free logins are now less secure than the traditional method. If your phone is lost or stolen, you are the mercy of the new "owner."
Other tech giants have researched new ways to make passwords a thing of the past. Some innovative ideas include eye and fingerprint scanners.
Besides its new "on demand" password feature, Yahoo is also developing a new user-friendly encryption system that will make it significantly easier to encrypt emails.
There is a catch, though. The system will not be enabled automatically for every mail processed. Alex Stamos, Yahoo's security chief, shared that users will likely only be able to use the security measure for very sensitive emails, according to The Verge.
Only the sender and receiver of the email will be able to read its contents. Yahoo hopes to make this new encryption available by the end of 2015.
